Key Men... and Key Women!

In the past few years, there have been a few changes made to the Chapter Sweetheart and State Sweetheart program. These changes have been made to further interest in the programs and to allow females to participate in DeMolay and promote the Order and the Learning Centers in new ways. However, because of these new changes, past, current, or future Sweethearts could have a muddied view of the program and how they could make a difference within the organization.

Many chapters out there have at least one Chapter Sweetheart and others even have multiple Sweethearts that works hard to promote the Order right alongside the members. Taking this into account, the Sweetheart Program has made a push and has been approved to have its very own track at Key Man 2013! A whole week, originally designed for the young men of DeMolay, has now been made to include current Sweethearts to participate and learn more about DeMolay, the Sweetheart Program (Chapter and State), and fun and innovative ways to help the Learning Centers!

Sweethearts, keep an eye out for announcements and mail outs for an opportunity to participate. Chapters, if you plan on sending members of the Chapter to Key Man, consider including your Chapter Sweetheart (or Sweethearts!), and give her the opportunity to participate in the first Key Man with a track designed specifically for them!

Remember, Key Man is August 4-10, located at Patton Campus in Elizabethtown. If there are any questions about this new track and how to register, please email Dave Berry at es@pademolay.net. Hope to see some eager Chapter Sweethearts there! 

For more information about Key Man, go to http://pademolay.org/events/keyman/keyman.html

DeMolays Love Food

I wanted to blog about something a little less serious today. As I thought about something to discuss, I remembered that DeMolays love one thing above all else - food! Pennsylvania has a rich history of interesting foods and I thought it might be fun to show DeMolays from other places what PA is known for. Specifically, I'm going to give you some information on PA Dutch Foods, as Elizabethtown (and the PA DeMolay HQ) is located in Lancaster County. Check out this awesome infographic I found over at mapsofworld.com.

What's your favorite PA food?

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony

DeMopoly Throw Back

"Dad" Matt Blaisdell came over to my desk this morning and dropped off an interesting old publication. Dated August of 1978, it was an issue of the DeMolay Cordon, which was the official magazine of DeMolay International for many years. On the cover of the booklet was a black and white picture of a Monopoly board. Inside, I found a great article on a fund raising event put on by Golden Valley Chapter in Minnesota. The Chapter members played Monopoly on a 2500 square foot board for more than 60 hours! Check out the entire article by clicking on the image below!

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony

SMC at Grand Commandery

As long time readers will note, I missed posting something on this past Monday. I was unable to post as I was attending the 160th Annual Conclave of the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of Pennsylvania, held in Williamsport, PA. Also attending that event was Bro. Alex Rasuchenberger, State Master Councilor of PA DeMolay. Alex was given the opportunity to address the crowd and I managed to video it for "posterity." Enjoy!

PA's Senior DeMolays - William Shillady

I keep being impressed with how many hits my stories on PA's Senior DeMolays are getting. Since everyone seems to be interested in these articles, I'm going to post another one! Today, we take a look at one of PA's Past State Master Councilor's, Bro. William Shillady, who served in 1975-76. While you may not know his name, some very important people do - like former President Bill Clinton and his family!

I found a great biography of Bro. Shillady at the United Methodist City Society's web page:

"Rev. Dr. William S. Shillady has served as Executive Director of the United Methodist City Society since September 2008. Before taking this position, he served as a pastor for 29 years.

A native of Reading, Pennsylvania, Rev. Shillady received his undergraduate degree from Lebanon Valley College. In 1981 he earned a Master of Divinity degree from Duke Divinity School. During his time at Duke he served a four point United Methodist charge in Eastern North Carolina and a Presbyterian Church in downtown Raleigh.

After seminary, Rev. Shillady served one year in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference at the Hawes Avenue United Methodist Church. In 1982 he transferred to the New York Conference and served for six years as the associate pastor to Rev. Dr. Clayton Miller at Asbury Crestwood United Methodist Church in Yonkers.

In 1988 he was appointed to the Mamaroneck United Methodist Church on the Sound shore in Westchester, where he was senior pastor for 11 years. During his tenure, the church raised the funds for and accomplished a major restoration project, prompted by the 2,000 pound church bell falling through the steeple one memorable Sunday morning. Also during this period, Shillady earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Drew Theological School.

In 1999, he was appointed to the Park Avenue United Methodist Church on the upper east side of Manhattan, where he served as senior pastor for 9 years.

On September 1, 2008 Shillady became the fifth Executive Director of the merged mission associations that created the United Methodist City Society.

Over the years, Rev. Shillady has served on a variety of boards and committees of the New York Annual Conference, as well as community based programs and boards. He now is the chairperson of the Board of Pension and Health Benefits of the Conference, a mentor to candidates for ministry, and serves as chair of the District Committee on Ministry. And currently, he is a member of the Board of Visitors of Duke Divinity School and on the Leadership Council for Habitat for Humanity, NYC."

Pretty impressive huh? Well, check this out, from an article by Linda Bloom, located at http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=2789393&ct=8551293

"A United Methodist pastor and Jewish rabbi officiated at the July 31 wedding ceremony of Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky in Rhinebeck, N.Y.

The Rev. Bill Shillady, executive director of the New York City Society and a clergy member of the New York Annual (regional) Conference, performed the ceremony with Rabbi James Ponet, the Jewish chaplain of Yale University.

“It was a wonderful honor to be part of this special day in Chelsea and Marc’s life,” Shillady told United Methodist News Service."

Brother Shillady continues to live the life of a DeMolay and we are proud to have such an esteemed member of society among our PSMC's!

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony

PA's Senior DeMolays - Glenn Grell

Continuing our look at some of Pennsylvania's more well known Senior DeMolays, we come to Bro. Glen R. Grell, who serves in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 87th District, which covers Cumberland County. Much of the information below comes from Rep. Grell's website.

Rep. Glen R. Grell was first elected in 2004 to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 87th District in Cumberland County.  He is currently serving his fifth, two-year term in the state House.

A long-time civic and community leader, Grell is a lifelong resident of Cumberland County.  The 87th Legislative District is comprised of the townships of East Pennsboro, Hampden and Silver Spring, the Borough of Camp Hill, and the second voting precinct of Wormleysburg Borough, pending completion of the 2012 legislative redistricting process.

During his tenure in the House of Representatives, Grell has been the principal sponsor or House floor leader on legislation on subjects ranging from eminent domain; public pension reform; the 2012 Justice Reinvestment Initiative for corrections reform; revisions to the Uniform Commercial Code on secured transactions; a recodification of the Notary Public Law; tort reform and other subjects.  

Prior to being elected to the House, Grell was a practicing attorney in central Pennsylvania since earning his law degree from the Dickinson School of Law in 1981. He was formerly with the law firm of Klett, Lieber, Rooney & Schorling, having previously practiced in the areas of municipal and administrative law, government affairs, real estate law and finance, and public procurement.

As a highly-regarded real estate attorney, Grell was appointed in 2004 to serve on the Joint State Government Commission’s Advisory Committee on Real Property Law, in the first phase of its mission to advise the General Assembly on the codification of real estate laws in Pennsylvania.  During the 2005-06 legislative session, Grell was the prime House sponsor of legislation to protect private property rights and reform the Pennsylvania Eminent Domain Code, which became Acts 34 and 35 of 2006. 

Grell served as Deputy General Counsel to Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge from 1995 to 2000. In that capacity, he had primary responsibility for Commonwealth contracting, review and approval of Commonwealth contracts, deeds, leases, inter-agency agreements, and other obligations.  He has also been a member of the Republican National Lawyers Association, Pennsylvania State Association of Township Solicitors, the Urban Land Institute, the West Shore Chamber of Commerce, the Harrisburg Regional Chamber of Commerce, Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors, and Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Harrisburg.  Grell is also a graduate of Leadership Harrisburg Area.

Grell has been active politically at the local, statewide and national level for more than 25 years. He has served as an elected committeeman in Hampden Township, as deputy chairman and vice chairman of the Cumberland County Republican Committee, as county coordinator and regional field director for Gov. Tom Ridge’s gubernatorial campaign, as Pennsylvania co-chairman of Lawyers for Bush-Cheney, as a volunteer for the 2000 Republican National Convention, County Co-Chairman for Romney/Ryan 2012 and has been active in many other local and regional political campaigns.  

Grell is a 1974 graduate of Cumberland Valley High School and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from The Johns Hopkins University in 1978, as well as his J.D. from Dickinson Law School in 1981.  He and his wife, the former Elaine Sanzotto, reside in Hampden Township.  They have two children: Cory, PMC and Senior DeMolay himself, a graduate of Pennsylvania State University, and Alyssa, a student at Millersville University.

His civic activities include serving on the Shippensburg University Council of Trustees since 1995; serving on the Board of the Pennsylvania Masonic Youth Foundation and as chairman of the Foundation’s Educational Endowment Fund Scholarship Committee; prior service as director of the Cumberland Valley Eagle Foundation from 2002-10.  He has also served as chairman of a Fund Distribution Panel of the United Way of the Capital Region and was a member of the Board of Directors of Domestic Violence Services of Cumberland and Perry Counties from 2006-12.  He is also an honorary member of the board of New Birth of Freedom Council, Boy Scouts of America, Hampden Township Volunteer Fire Company #30, the Mechanicsburg Sportsmen’s Club, and a member of the Central Pennsylvania College President’s Circle. 

Happiness Vs. Wealth

I've recently been having discussions with several DeMolays (and Masons) about their careers / future careers. Many of these conversations touch on all the subjects you would expect - the job market, money, benefits, relocation, etc. However, one of the things that often seems to get overlooked is, in my opinion, the most important factor of all - happiness!

Working for the fraternity is never going to net me a giant pay check. I realize that I could probably make much more in the commercial sector. However, what's immeasurable is the happiness in my job. I spent several years working in Human Resources. Some days were really good. Some days were really bad. I didn't dislike my work, but like every job, it had its stressful days. In my current job, I could count on a single hand the truly stressful days that I have each year (most of which occur around Convention / Key Man time, by the way.)

Whenever I talk careers with anybody, one of the first things I ask them is "what would you be happy doing?" Sometimes they  have a clear picture of what they want to do, while others don't have a clue. Many people fall back on their hobbies and say they'd love to do that all the time. As someone who works for one his "hobbies,"  I can tell you that it's both rewarding and painful. Others think they'd be happy doing something that makes them a lot of money. "I'd be happy being an attorney." Most of those people are wrong.

I came across this article from Parade Magazine, entitled What's the Happiest (and Unhappiest) Job in America? Guess who hates their job the most? High paid lawyers! Who loves their jobs? Construction workers and sales people. Their jobs may not be high profile, but they find their work rewarding and engaging. Actually, according to a Forbes article, the happiest people make about $50,000 year. That's much less than most expect.

So, as you ponder your career, I urge you to quit looking at the dollars and cents and instead look at what makes you happy. You'll be more content in the long run, I assure you.

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony

Unique Job for DeMolays

As I look back on the choices I've made in my life, one of my biggest regrets is not having traveled more when I was younger. Many folks are lucky to have spent some time abroad while in college or perhaps took some time to really visit and get to know another country. While I have been to Europe, it wasn't a long visit and I certainly want to go back.

When I was working at my first HR job, several of my colleagues were looking at going into the Peace Corps (click on the link to learn more about that program.) I looked at the option but soon realized it wasn't for me. More recently, I have been reading up on the Foreign Service Office at the Department of State. If I had to do everything over again, I think I would  have considered this option more. It would be an awesome job, but it certainly takes a special kind of person.

Then, I stumbled across an article on the Art of Manilness Blog entitled So You Want My Job: Foreign Service Officer/Diplomat. While I may not be in a position to make this kind of career move, I thought I'd share the link with all the DeMolays out there who might be looking for a unique job to do when they get out of college. It doesn't require any specific kind of degree and the skills they look for are some of the same key things we teach in DeMolay.

Check out the link - who knows - you might be the next Ambassador!

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony

Even more publications!

Hot on the heals of my post on Monday, I direct you to another website that is chock full of resources for any Masonic Youth Group, but especially DeMolay.

Over on the PMYF website, under the Programs > Publications section, there are a bunch of quality publications that could be of great use to your Chapter. More especially, they could be of use to your Chapter Advisory Council. Many of the documents relate to working with Masonic Sponsors for your Chapter and how to keep them involved. Who doesn't want help with that?

That's not all that's available on PMYF either! If you're interested in the Masonic Youth Group Grant Program, the HODEGOS Award for Adult Leaders, the LifeSkills Conference, or even the Masonic Scholarship Resource Guide - it's all there!

As you learn and grow in DeMolay, it's important to keep in mind all the resources that are available to you and your Chapter. Take some time to review the websites for the organization and you'll often find important pieces of information that you didn't even know were there!

Frat! ~ "Dad" Seth Anthony